Communities around Virginia are ignoring an opportunity to prevent suicides and mass shootings. That’s the unmistakable conclusion found in recent news articles about the use — or lack thereof — of “emergency substantial risk orders,” commonly known as the red flag law.

The state’s 2020 law allows police and sheriff’s deputies to take firearms from individuals or stop them from buying guns if they are a risk to themselves or others. Yet, most localities didn’t use the law at all last year, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this summer. 

That inaction must change. Gun control and gun rights advocates should agree on this, even though the hardened positions that both sides exhibit on firearms prevent consensus. 

Such emergency orders work. True, it’s practically impossible to prove a negative about the lives saved or grief avoided. But several academic studies have shown the effectiveness of red flag laws around the U.S. 

A Duke University professor estimated in 2024, for example, that one suicide could be prevented for every 17 to 23 extreme risk protection orders that are issued. Columbia University researchers used computer modeling to show Florida’s red flag law reduced firearm homicides by about 11%. 

And a 2019 study by researchers at the University of California at Davis identified 21 cases in which California’s red-flag law helped prevent a mass shooting. 

“The bottom line, they’re effective,” Dr. Paul Nestadt, medical director of the Center for Suicide Prevention at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told me. He’s co-author of a report released in June that studied gun suicides across the country. 

The orders also help when people fear an abusive domestic partner will use a gun against them. “It could be a lifesaving thing,” Nestadt said. Nearly two dozen states and Washington, D.C., have red flag statutes. 

The law in Virginia allows prosecutors, police or sheriffs to go to court to seek an ESRO against someone. Often, family members tell authorities of concerns about their relatives, or law enforcement officials receive tips about potential threats. 

Within 14 days of issuing the order, a hearing in circuit court must be held to determine whether the decision can remain in effect for up to six months. The subjects of the order are guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for buying, possessing or transporting a firearm during that period. 

The civil process can be extended for additional time. Authorities also return firearms after the immediate threat ceases. 

Fairfax County used the orders far more than any other locality in 2024 and has been a strong supporter of them. Many localities, though, didn’t have a single ESRO last year. It’s as if they don’t know how to use them or are reluctant to seize firearms from residents. 

Vi r g i n i a State Police told me that since the law took effect in July 2020 through Sept. 2, 2025, authorities obtained 1,994 emergency orders statewide. Fairfax County had gotten 362 of that total through July, spokespeople with the county Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney told me. The county is the state’s largest locality, with roughly 1.2 million residents. 

“This tool prevents tragedy,” said Steve Descano, the county’s top prosecutor and a big proponent of the policy. “It gets guns out of people’s hands that could be a danger to others.” 

The office dedicates at least four attorneys to these cases. (They also handle other duties.) A special court docket takes place weekly. The county has run ads about the law, and it even has a link on the commonwealth’s attorney’s website that explains the process and lists the number of cases. 

Other localities, though, have rarely used the tool — if at all. Nor is it clear whether local residents know the option is available; it could be valuable when a family member is having a mental health crisis. 

Portsmouth did seize firearms from a resident after the person posted images on Facebook of weapons and threatened a local Walmart. That incident had taken place shortly after the mass shooting at a Walmart in nearby Chesapeake in November 2022. 

A news report said it was the only time Portsmouth, a city of about 97,000 people, had sought an order in five years. 

“We know it’s not being used as often as it could and should be,” said Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Arlington, and chief sponsor of the 2020 legislation in the state House. He told me more Virginians should know about the law, including doctors, emergency room staff and mental health professionals. 

One case from Crozet this year is murky, but it raises serious questions about whether law enforcement authorities should have intervened more forcefully. Family members of Justin M. Barbour had notified local officials twice in the two months leading up to his Feb. 17 shooting rampage. 

The shootings outside a grocery store left three people dead, including Barbour, 28. He didn’t know his victims. 

If not for the presence of an off-duty federal officer, who shot and killed Barbour, more people could’ve been harmed. Barbour fired off 28 rounds within just 20 seconds. 

During several earlier interactions with police, “Barbour presented a calm demeanor,” Albemarle County Police said in a March 6 statement. “There was no indication or evidence of violence, threats, or self-harm reported to police, which are the standard threshold to obtain an ECO (Emergency Custody Order) or Emergency Substantial Risk Order (ESRO).” 

News reports, though, said family members had begged for help from the Albemarle police before Barbour's rampage. A magistrate had denied an emergency custody order sought by the family in December. 

A police department spokesperson, by email, told me the department didn’t seek an ESRO in court based on its contacts with Barbour and the information it had. Relatives, under the current law, can’t go to court directly to seek such an order; they need the intervention of police or prosecutors. 

Clearly, family members should have that option. Authorities, too, should err on the side of caution to prevent such horrible violence. 

The red flag law in Virginia is no panacea. Potential acts of mayhem don’t always fit neatly into the law’s guidelines. 

Yet imperfect as it may be, the law helps. 

Localities should use every tool that can prevent a suicide or mass shooting. The inertia must stop. 

The writer is a columnist and editorial writer at VirginiaMercury.com